The King and the Dryad
by KirstenSkandar
Summary: Edmund meets a beautiful young dryad named Caera and quickly falls in love with her. After 1000 years (or just 1) of separation, they embark on a adventure or war, love and peace.
1. Chapter 1

I remember watching him quietly, all those years ago. Silently I protected him from all that where to happen to him.  
I loved him.  
And he loved me.  
I met him 2 years after he became king. I sat beneath my silver birch beside the castle, watching the comings and goings of all the noblemen and villagers. He was alone, pacing around the front gates, swinging his sword, smiling to whoever noted his presence.  
It wasn't long before he spotted me, and he walked towards my perch.  
"Hullo! What a glorious day it is!," he said happily, sitting next to me. I smiled at him and nodded, wondering why on earth he took interest in me.  
It was a glorious day indeed, it was the beginning of autumn and the trees where alight with reds and oranges. The air was crisp, and the soft blue sky was comforting. The castle shown bright in the morning sunlight.  
"What brings you out of your home, my king?" I ask him, trying to make conversation.  
"This season is my favourite, and what brings you out of yours?" he asks, looking at the sky.  
I point to the forest. "That is my home."  
He smiles,"Ah, you are a dyrad, my lady. I don't mean to be nosy, but I always wanted to know... Do dyrads ever get cold in the winter? I mean, Lucy always goes on about how we should let them live Cair Paravel with us during the winter... I was just curious."  
I chuckle and shake my head."If I feel the cold, I go back into the forest with my family, to our house. But if you don't mind, I would love to see the castle with my own eyes, if you allow it."  
"Of course! My home is your home." he says, leading me into the castle.

"Who's this, Edmund?" asks Queen Lucy curiously. Edmund furrows his brows. "Oh dear, I forgot to ask. What IS your name?" he asks me, as Lucy laughs at his mistake. "Caera." I respond, smiling at him.  
Lucy looks excitedly from me to Edmund, and shouts,"We should show her the throne room! Susan's just got it all nice for fall festivities, I was going to show you earlier, Ed, but it seems you made a new friend." She winks at us, making Edmund blush. She giggles and leads the way down the front hall.

Susan did make the throne room quite beautiful. It was draped with all sorts of red and gold leaves ( "Like Aslans mane." Lucy mentioned.). Curtains of the same colours cascaded down from the ceiling to the floor behind the four thrones. The lush carpet leading to the thrones had softly glowing candles along the edges.  
Lucy spots Susan and calls her over to meet with us. "This is Caera, she's Edmunds new friend. Say, where did you find her Edmund?" Lucy asks, while introducing me to Susan. "She was sitting under her tree, she is a dryad." he answers. Susan smiles at me,"How do you like Cair Paravel so far?" she asks. "Its beautiful. I do love your decorations, your Majesty." I say. "Thankyou, Caera. But there is no need to call us kings or queens or Majesty. Please, just call us by our names." she tells me, and I nod, noting that in my head. Its strange for royalty to not want names of power, but I suppose it depends on the person.

I return to my tree later that day, after feasting with them. Susan explained that Peter was off with a small army of Centaurs and Minotaurs hunting down hags and werewolves, and that Edmund is soon to join him.

I continued to see Edmund every so often, sometimes accompanied by one of his sisters. He became a very good friend to me, and we shared many stories and tales of our times in Narnia. I told him of the 100 years I spent trapped in my tree. "The magic was so evil, I couldn't assume human form. And besides, it was too cold to even think of leaving the warmth of my tree." I told him one day, after the first signs of winter began to show. "Did you ever try to get out?" he asks, taking an apple from his basket. I nod." Yes, but there was always something holding me back, like I was meant for something later on." I try to explain.  
"Do you think that you will ever get to do that?"  
I shake my head,"No, my tree will probably get cut down before that happens... But you never know..." I whisper, looking at the snowflakes falling from the somber sky.  
He looks sadly at me, then to the snow piling on the ground. "Its my time to go and help Peter," he tells me, picking up a small handfull of snow.  
I nod,"And its my time to rest in my tree for the winter." I look at him and smile "Will you be back next spring?" I ask, as we both stand up. "Probably, hopefully. I'll miss you and my sisters so much." he says, taking me into a unexpected embrace. I return it, and we stand there for a short while, before he whispers,"I love you." and lets go and walks away.

And that was the last time I would see him for nearly 1000 years.  
And the last ime I would be human for 1000 years.


	2. Chapter 2

There was an echo, a soft, sweet echo, coming from the woods to the west.  
That was the first thing I heard as I became human again, for the first time in nearly 1000 years.  
I smile and look around, and my smile fades just as quickly as it came. Cair Paravel, who once stood strong a proud, was nothing but ruins and rubble, overlooking the bright sea.  
What happened?  
The Telmarines happened, thats what. And whats more, all the dryads where forced into their trees, as the Naiads into the waters. Just like we were during the 100 year-long winter.  
I expected to die from old age, but I stayed just as young, just as healthy. Something really was keeping me here for something, I just couldn't see it.  
Thats when I heard rustling in the bushes down by the cliff overlooking the ocean. Loud talking, exciting conversation. Telmarines.

I stay hidden beneath the now heavily bushed apple orchard.  
"Narnia hasn't had ruins before." says a males voice, sounding anxious and confused.  
"Well of course, we did rule Narnia for 15 years." says another, sweeter voice. A voice I strangely recognized.  
"Of course, Lu. Where do you suppose we are then?" asks the same males voice again.  
"Oh look! Its a gold chess piece!" says an older female voice, another one I recognized.  
"Hey, thats mine!" Pauses a second, also very recognizable, males voice, "Well I didn't exactly have a solid-gold chess set back in Finchely, did I?" He asks, after I assume the group must have given him weird looks.  
I hear them walk around for a short while, before I hear the young girl call the other three over.  
She explains the throne room, the great hall, in perfect detail, like she had been there only days before the Telmarines destroyed it.  
"What happened...?" Whispers the older girl. "I don't know, but I really want to find out." says the oldest of them, the only voice I don't recognize.

A little while later, I assume they left after hearing nothing for quite awhile, I tiptoe quietly back to my tree, and I sit in the bush beside it, glad that it is quite a large bush. I lean back againest its hard trunk and stay there until I hear them come towards me again. Oh no... I really hope they're not coming to see my, unfortunately, unique tree.  
"I remember this tree..." says the younger boy, pacing around the front of the tree. I hold my breath, hoping that they wouldn't find me.  
"Its Caera's tree. Remember?" says the young girls voice, laughing.  
"Whats so funny, Lu?" he asks. "Nothing, nothing. Anyways, where's Susan and Peter?"  
Thats when I let out a gasp. Oh dear, huge mistake.  
"What was that?" she asks, looking in the direction of the bush I was hiding in. I try not to rustle, but of course I do and she skips over to me. "Hey, Ed, theres someone...or thing... in the bush!"  
I stick my head out as soon as I hear the word 'Ed'. "Edmund?" I ask, turning my head towards them. The boy turns around and looks at me and gives me the biggest smile I have ever seen in my life. "Caera!" He shouts and runs over and tries to help me out of the bush. The twigs catch on my light hair and silvery dress as I struggle to get up.  
He takes me into a hug and he holds me for a while, until Lucy clears her throat. "Hello, I'm here too!" I smile and give her a big hug. "Oh how I've missed you!" I tell them, still overly excited about their return. "How many years has it been in Narnia... And what happened?" She asks, her face now growing serious.  
I return her saddness, and I shrug. I really don't know all that has happened. "All I know is that Narnia was invaded by Telmarines. And that was about 1000 years ago." I tell them. Edmunds face in shrouded in disbelief."Telmarines in Narnia?" he shakes his head, "Weren't you alive then?" he asks me. "Remember Ed? She disappeared after you left." Lucy reminds him. I nod "I never came out until this morning. I wish I knew... but I don't know." I say, looking around, after hearing footsteps.  
Susan and Peter appear from around the corner, clad in some Narnian wear. "Who's that?" Peter asks, pointing at me. Susans face lights up to a grin. "Its Caera!" I greet her too, with a hug. Edmund introduces me to Peter, who in then says, with a sly smile,

"So she's the one you left! She's the one your still in love with!"


	3. Chapter 3

I immediately go red after hearing what Peter said; I never expected Edmund to love me, to be in love with me. I knew he loved me, but not exactly like that. I love him, but as a friend, a best friend, and no more. We are worlds, centuries apart.  
Edmund also goes red, but he quickly flushes it from his face. He nods, and Lucy giggles, while Susan tries to break the obvious tension. "Well, I suppose we should get going, shouldn't we?" she says, pulling Lucy along, who's trailed by the rest of us.  
She leads us to a heavy stone wall, and points to it. "Do you think that they went in here?". Peter surveys the wall and waves Edmund over. They push the wall over with great difficulty and Peter breaks down a rotten wooden door. He then tears of his shirt tail and ties it around a stick. "Does anyone have matches?" He asks, as Edmund begins rummaging around in shoulder bag. "Would this help?" he asks, pulling out a strange, metallic object. Peter smiles and says with a laugh, "You could've mentioned that a bit sooner!" The rest of the them laugh, while I'm still unsure of what exactly that thing is.  
We begin our descent down when I learn what it is. Peter hits a small switch on the side and a very bright light is emitted from the object. I stumble backwards. "What is THAT?!" I ask, shocked at what I saw. Edmund laughs. "A torch, or a flashlight. Whatever you wish on calling it." Interested, I ask,"Why hasn't the fire gone out yet?". Edmund raises his eyebrow and mutters something about earth and the lack of technology in Narnia.  
Its a long, dim and musty walk down a steep stair case to where Peter said the 'Treasure' was. I was excited to see what's in the room. What treasure could have lasted 1000 years?

A lot, apparently The room was nearly covered in golds, gems, and armor. Peter sets the 'flashlight' in the middle of the chamber, lighting the whole room in gold. I stare at everything in the room in awe, amazed by the possessions they owned.  
They all go towards a large chest, all with the statues of their adult selves behind it. I watch as each of them open the chest, each filled with an extraordinary amount of treasure inside.  
I walk over to Edmund, and peer over his shoulder. "Whats your favourite thing in your chest?" I ask him, startling him slightly. He turns around with a long blade. "This." he smiles, then puts it on the ground, and takes out a few more things and a set of clothes.  
They leave and change into their old Narnian wear. Immediately I notice Edmund and Lucy are both wearing the garments I first met them in. He shoots me a quick smile. I smile back, before the other three notice.

We leave the castle ruins by late afternoon, giving Susan and Peter enough time to go and hunt for food, leaving Lucy, Edmund and I to go and start finding berries and other things. "Caera, whats the best berries to eat?" She asks me. "Its spring, right?" They nod. "Well, there's probably strawberries around here somewhere." I say, looking around for them. "You just have know where to look."  
"And you do?" Edmund asks, with a smirk.  
"No."  
He laughs with me. Lucy looks around, confused.  
"Apples?"  
"That's in autumn, silly. You know that!"  
"Blue berries?"  
"Summer."  
"This is why I lived in a castle, and not a forest." I laugh, and I continue my search for some berries.  
We don't end up finding any, but we find some salmon berries and roots, just for me. Apparently no one likes either thing. Oh well, more for me.

Its nearly dark before Peter and Susan come back with a few rabbits, and-"STRAWBERRIES!" exclaims both Edmund and Lucy as Susan passes a few out.  
I see Peter gather some large branches, and put it in the middle and lights it on fire. I wince. "Whats the matter?" He asks, looking concerned. "That's dead wood...right?" I ask him. He nods "Don't worry, Caera. I have nothing to chop a tree up. And besides, I nearly forgot about you being a dryad. I'll try to remember." He assures me, turning back to the growing fire, sticking a few rabbits over the fire on a couple branches.

Everyone quickly falls asleep that night, except for Edmund.  
"Why can't you sleep?" he asks me, looking over at me.  
"I've just slept for 1000 years. You?"  
He thinks over my response for awhile, the smiles. "Oh I get it! Well, I'm just so excited to be here, I guess. I really never thought I would see you ever again, you know."  
I nod. "Same with myself. The only thing that would make it better if Aslan were here."  
"Yes, that would be awfully nice."  
"Ed?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you really love me?"  
His eyes flicker away from me for a moment. He nods."I do. I know that you... you probably won't. I mean, your 1015 years old, at least..."  
I smile before responding,"No, I just never thought about it before. I was technically frozen for almost 1000 years of it, you know."  
"But you don't love me, like have loved you."  
"No..."  
He looks away. "I'm sorry... it wouldn't work anyways." He scoffs."I mean, well, we are entirely different people... species."  
"I guess I understand. But, what if, you begin to love me as well?" He asks.  
I think about this for a moment. What if I do? Is wrong to love him? Could I love him? "I don't know Edmund, I really don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

I wake up much earlier then the others, so I go and see the forest I have so missed for 1000 years.  
I wander and look at all the trees, the dryad trees. I see almost everyone I have ever known etched into their trees. Am I the only one awake?  
Off in the distance, I see my mother and my father's trees, beside eachother. Almost intertwined with eachother. I look longing at them, just as perfectly preserved as I was. I look sadly at them, for I desperatly want them to awaken, but yet, I don't. I don't want them to see what the Telmarines have done to our forest, and all the forests of Narnia. I don't even want to know what they could have done to the other poor creatures of Narnia while I was asleep. I never want to know.

When I arrive back at camp, the rest of them had woken up, and where eating the rest of the rabbit for breakfast. "Want some?" Susan jokes, and bites into her portion. I smile, and glance over at Edmund. He looks quietly at me, then back to his food.  
I feel awful, knowing that I broke his heart. Love is a tricky thing, not to be played and fooled with. It would hurt him more if I lied and said I did, just to make him happy. I hope he will realize that one day.

"Caera!" Lucy calls me, while we walk down towards the beach. "Yes, Lucy?" I turn around and ask her. "How does it feel, to live again?" I slow to walk beside her. "Hmm... Better then being stuck in a tree." She giggles. "Why does it matter if we make a fire of fresh wood?" she asks me.  
"I am connected to the forest. It hurts, I guess, to see a tree be hurt. If its already dead, why not use it."  
"So you never make fires?"  
"Yes, well, I never personally have, but my family and friends have."  
"Ah, well, on earth we aren't exactly that good at perserving the trees. Then again, we have no dryads either."  
"What a boring world! Say, one day I would like to see earth."  
"Oh no, Narnia is much more exciting, trust me. All that hussle-bussle of the city really gets on my nerves sometimes. And besides, school is just awful."  
I smile. I never have gone to school. All the schooling I have ever gotten was just learning how to read, and thats all. "What do you learn in school?"  
Lucy ponders the question for a moment before responding. "Boring stuff, history, math, language studies, home economics. I really don't like it."  
"What is math?"  
"You don't want to know..." She says with a sigh, before looking over at Peter. "Whats the matter Peter?" She asks. "Look! A boat!"  
I look in the direction of the river, and indeed there is a boat there. A Telmarine boat.  
Edmund squints his eyes and looks over. "They have someone with them, can you see that far, Caera?"  
I look out and see a red-bearded dwarf, inbetween two Telmarine soldiers. "A dwarf, two soldiers" I tell him. Peter looks out there too as the boat gets closer to the shore.  
Bound and gagged, the dwarf seemed to be struggling in their grasps.  
"Drop him!" Susan yells, and alas, the soldiers drop him in the water. She gasps and shoots them both, realizing her mistake.  
Peter immediately jumps into the water to go save the dwarf, and Edmund swims out to get the boat.  
When Peter gets him out of the water and unbound, the only thing the dwarf can say is "DROP him? DROP him?"  
Angry, Susan retaliates by saying,"A 'thankyou' would be much nicer!" The dwarf looks back at her "Thankyou. And who are you anyways?" No one says anything for a little while, so I pipe in, "The Kings and Queens of old!"  
The Dwarf looks at all of them in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me. You? The Kings and Queens of old? I'd expect you to be a little older..." He mutters. Susan frowns "We can come back in a few years if you like." "Sorry, your Majesty. I didn't mean that. I can't believe that horn worked..." he mutters again. "A horn? You mean my horn?" She asks him, bewildered. "Yeah, Queen Susans horn. Some stupid Telmarine boy blew it a few weeks ago."  
Furious, Peter whips around."A TELMARINE?" He asks, shaking his head. The dwarf nods.  
"It can't be that bad, there must be a reason," Lucy says, trying to reason with the situation. She looks at the dwarf and concentrates for a moment."I do believe we haven't asked your name yet!"  
"Trumpkin. Well? If you want to find the so-called 'Prince' you better come with me." Says the dwarf, getting into the boat with Edmund. Peter rolls his eyes,"Oh he's a prince too. How lovely."

All of us, except for Trumpkin, were smiling as we made our passage along the river. How we missed the Narnian woods, the rivers, the creatures. I yearned to see my fellow dryads, and so I asked Trumpkin (of whom the Pevensies so named Dear Little Friend) if he had seen anyother dryads around. "I can't say that I have, my lady. I think your the only one awake." Edmund looks at me from across the boat with a sincerely sorry face. "I'm sure they'll wake up soon, Caera. I know they will." Lucy says, trying to comfort me.  
What if I am truly alone?


	5. Chapter 5

Edmund was the intruder of my dreams that night.  
I couldn't help thinking of him before I fell asleep. Of how miserable he must have felt after I said I didn't love him. Of how I couldn't love him.  
Its a miracle I even fell asleep.  
But what bothered me, was how I never thought so much about him before.  
How much I affected him was affecting me.  
His sadness was mine, my happiness was his.  
Maybe I did love him 1000 years ago.  
And maybe I still love him now.

We continued our journey the next day, and so Trumpkin decided that it was better to go by land at this point (since we had reached Glasswater Creek) and so we deserted the boat and sent it to sea. "We have to go to Aslans How, thats where Nikabrik and the boy told me to head." he says, beginning to lead the way along the side of the creek.

It wasn't exactly a hard journey, but it was a long one. We're set to go north-east to the Fords of Beruna, cross it, then go up hill. Trumpkin says this will lead us to Aslans How, hopefully.  
Regardless, its just the journey I need to sort things out with Ed before we are separated with different duties.

I find the perfect time to do so when I volunteer Edmund and I to go and find food for everyone, while they made a fire and rested.  
We were a few minutes away from the others when he finally decides to talk. "Why did you want me to come with you?"  
I continue to look ahead."We need to talk."  
"About what? I already know that you don't love me. It's better that we don't talk." he mutters, looking at the ground.  
"That doesn't mean we can't be friends, Ed. I still love you that way, don't I? Don't you?" I ask, pleadingly. I desperately still want us to be friends.  
He takes my arm to stop me from walking and he looks at me. "Caera, its better if we don't talk."  
I shake my head. "No, no. You don't mean that."  
"No, I don't. I don't want it either. I just can't live without knowing..." He begins before trailing off.  
"Know what?" I ask.  
He looks around before walking right up to me. "Without knowing this." He says, before giving me an unexpected, but sweet kiss. He steps back and gives me a sad smile.  
The whole gesture confused me. As soon as he kissed me I felt something, something I hadn't felt ever before.  
Love.  
And it wasn't just him. It was me as well. I felt his love, and I desperately wanted him to feel mine.  
I am in love with Edmund Pevensie. And there is nothing I can do, or want to do anything about it.  
I smile back at him. "I've wanted to know that, too. Now I do."  
He looks at me, confused. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean, I didn't know I loved you, but now I do."  
A laugh appears on his face. "How did you know?"  
"A dream. That kiss. I don't know. I just...do."  
He looks back at me, happy, full of love.  
Our eyes lock, our lips meet.  
And I am the happiest girl in the world.

* * *

**Thankyou for the reviews! **

**And, I know that you might think that Edmund's to young for love and stuff, but I always imagined him older, like 16 (whereas Peter is 18, Susan is 17 and Lucy is 12).**

**So I hope you enjoy the rest of the story! (:**


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